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FARGO, ND – The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks dropped their season finale 10-7 at the hands of the Amarillo Thunderheads. In a a back and forth game, Amarillo used a five run top of the eighth to escape with the win before 4,102 fans at Newman Outdoor Field.

The club finished 44-56 and avoided the worst season in the franchise's illustrious twenty-year history. Many people may say the final loss was fitting giving their season, but a true RedHawks fan would say otherwise.

The 'Hawks were the hottest team in the American Association over the course of the last 30 days. The team went on a tear, winning 21 games en route to a 21-8 mark.

It was a season of shuffling and looking for the right answer. The club had 50 different active players on the roster throughout the season. Team ownership questioned whether or not Manager Doug Simunic would return for a 21st season judging by the first 70 games of the schedule.

After the team's beat writer, Eric Peterson, published an article in the Fargo Forum announcing the front office's displeasure the results were day and night. Things came together, and the club was winning. Announced on the final day of the season, today, team President Bruce Thom declared that the skipper would return to Fargo-Moorhead for a 21st season at the helm of the RedHawks.

The fans played witness to many a great games and accomplishments.

The team walked-off at Newman Outdoor Field three times in 50 games, keeping the ballpark's magic alive. After all, Doug Simunic has always said, “This is a baseball place.”

Fans were graced with the short presence of Zach Wright, who after playing in a four-game series versus the Winnipeg Goldeyes at home in mid-July had his contract purchased by the Washington Nationals. Wright was sent straight to Triple-A with the Syracuse Chiefs.

The wily veteran saved some of his best pitching for late in his career. In his thirteenth season of professional baseball, Brandon Mann shattered Fargo-Moorhead's single season strikeout record set by Gino Caruso back in 1997 when the left-hander retired 132 batters via the punch out. Mann then proceeded to break the American Association single season strikeout record set by Sioux Falls' Ben Moore back in 2011. Moore struck out 144 that summer, but with his ten strikeouts today, Mann set a new mark of 157 strikeouts in a single season. In today's game Mann also eclipsed Jake Laber's franchise mark for innings pitched in a single season. The Fargo native hurled 139.1 innings in 2011. Mann came into today's contest having pitched 136.2 innings, and went seven frames on Monday giving him a new Fargo-Moorhead record of 143.2 innings pitched in a single season.

Zach Penprase and Chad Mozingo each finished the season with 122 hits after the conclusion of today's game. The duo finished just one hit shy of breaking into the RedHawks' top five for hits in a single season.

The golden mark of batting .300 was achieved by two RedHawks. Mozingo, who began the season scattering balls all over the park at a torrid pace, cooled off but still finished with a team best average of .307. Penprase also achieved the mark. The shortstop entered today's game batting .299 and would need to come up with a couple hits to push past the barrier.

With question marks swirling around whether or not the tenured shorstop will return, his potential last at-bat was fitting, to say the least. High touted as a powerful opposite field hitter, Penprase ripped a line drive single to right scoring rookie Jordan Tescher. Penprase finished the game 3-for-5 with two runs scored and another pair batted in.

“It's huge for me, especially since mid-season I was hitting .260. To be honest I didn't even think it was possible. To come back and actually do it, it feels great to end the year on a high note.” Penprase said post-game.

With 100 more games in this storied franchse's history in the books, the next 100 look even more promising. Simunic is excited about the potential talent returning to Fargo-Moorhead, and anticipation for 2016 has already begun.